Folding refrigerator car door



Aug. 28, 1951 E. v. HOPKINS FOLDING REFRIGERATOR CAR DOOR 2 Sheets-Shae; 1

Filed July 31, 1948 INVENTOR 5M4 V, flaw/N5 ATTOPNi/f Aug. 28, 1951 E. v. HOPKINS 2,565,728

FOLDING REFRIGERATOR CAR DOOR Filed July 31, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 k INVENTOR.

5M4 KbaM/A/J Fm! Patented Aug. 28, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOLDING REFRIGERATOR CAR DOOR Earl V. Hopkins, San Leandro, Calif.

Application July 31, 1948, Serial No. 41,755

3 Claims. (Cl. 160-210) This invention relates to a door for use in refrigerator cars.

In refrigerator freight cars, it is the practice to provide hinged doors rather than sliding doors. Such doors comprise two panels or doors hinged at opposite sides and forming a joint or closure in the middle of the door opening. The standard width of such doors is four feet.

It is frequently desirable to provide a door of greater than standard width. It is important, however, in providing a wider door, that the design be such as to allow clearance of the door and loading platforms.

It is known to provide a door having three or four hinged sections or panels comprising two outer panels hingedly secured t opposite sides of the door frame and one or more inner panels hingedly secured to the outer panels. This design provides a wider door and, because of its sectional construction, it permits clearance of loading platforms. However, it is also important in doors of this design that the door be easily manipulated and that provision be made for latching one or more of the panels in closed position, while others are open. The means heretofore devised for this purpose have been clumsy and diflicult to manipulate.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved form of folding door.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved form of folding door for refrigerator cars and th like.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide a folding or sectional type of door for refrigerator cars and the like which is easily manipulated and. which is provided with improved means for latching one or more of the door sections or panels in closed position while others are open.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing description and the appended claims. I

On form which the invention may assume is exemplified in the following description and illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a view in front elevation of the folding car door of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view, on a larger scale. of the latching mechanism employed to latch one section of the door in closed position whil another section is open;

Fig. 3 is a view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, showing the latching mechanism in plan view;

Fig. 4 is a section taken along the line 4-4 of. Fig. 1, showing how the door structure is manip ulated to provide a standard car door opening of four-foot width; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to that of Fig. 4, but showing the manner in which the door is manipulated to provide a wider than standard opening.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, there is shown a freight car I having a door frame 2 including side members 3 and 4 and top and bottom members 5 and 6. Pivotally secured to the door frame by means of hinges I is a door generally designated as 8. The door 8 is in three sections or panels designated as A, B and C, the panels A and C being outer sections and the panel B being an inner section.

Panel A is provided with the usual latching and operating elements, which are of well known construction and need be only briefly described here. Thus, there is provided a rod in guided and rotatably supported by upper and lower sleeves II and I2, upper and lower brackets l3 and I4, and a middle bracket l5. At each end, th rod I0 is provided with an eccentric member Ii which is received within a keeper member l1, and a handle I8 is also provided for turning the rod l0 and for latching the door panels A and B. A latch l9 secured to panel B cooperates with the handle 18. A bottom latching member or door stop 20 rotatable by means of a shaft 2| is also provided at the bottom panel B. and a fixed door stop 22 is provided at the top of panel B.

The operation of panel A is also well known, necessitating principally the manipulation of handle 18. Thus, by rotating handle l8 to the right as viewed in Fig. 1, from the latched position shown, the rod I0 is rotated thus causing eccentric members It to rotate to a position such as to clear the keeper members I1 and unlatch panel A at top and bottom.

Outer panelC and the middle panel Bare pivotally connected by means of leaf hinges 30, one half of each leaf hinge being welded to a hinge bar or shaft 3| as at 32. A latching structure generally designated as 34 is provided at the bottom of the hinged joint between the panels B and C and-an identical but oppositely disposed latching structure 34a is disposed above the panels B and C. A description of one such structure will suflice.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 2 to 5, to the lower end of the hinge bar 3| is secured a horizontal arm 35 to the outer end of which is secured a downwardly extending pin 36. The pin 36 is received within a pocket 31 formed in a latching bracket or keeper 58 which is bolted or otherwise suitably secured to the door frame. The latching bracket 38 is provided with arms or fingers 39 and 40, the ends of which are spaced apart to provide an open passage 4 I. As the middle panel B is pivoted from the closed position as shown in full lines in Fig. 4 through an angle of 180 to the position shown in broken lines, the eccentric pin 36 will rotat from a position X indicated in full line in Fig. 3 to a position Y indicated in broken line. Itwill be noted that in each such position the eccentric pin 36 abuts one or the other of the arms 39 and 40; that is, the eccentric pin 36 abuts the arm 39 when the middle panel B is in closed position and it abuts the arm 40 when the panel B is in completely open position as shown in Fig. 4. In either position the opening, the middle panel B is pivoted through an angle somewhat greater than 90 to a position somewhat beyond its position as shown in full lines in Fig. 5. This will rotate the eccentric pin 36 to the position indicated as Z in Fig. 3, in which position, it will be noted, the pin is in alignment with the passage 4| between the fingers 39 and 40. In this position, the outer panel C is unlatched and may be opened by pulling the panel B outwardly and to the left as shown in broken lines in Fig.5. The successive steps in opening the door to provide a wide opening are indicated as a, b and c in Fig. 5. Thus, in step a, panel B is pivoted through an angle somewhat greater than 90 outwardly to pivot panel C and it is also swung back to clear a platform as indicated at 45. Finally, in step 0, panel C is pivoted 90 while panel B is pivoted reversely and into alignment with panel C.

It is thus apparent that a folding door structure for a refrigerator car or the like has been provided which affords several advantages. Thus, the structure provides a standard opening or a wider opening, as desired; in opening to its full width, ample platform clearance is provided; when in closed position and when open to standard width, the outer panel is securely latched in closed position; and operation of the door is extremely simple.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in its construction by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A folding door structure comprising a door frame having side members and end members. a

first panel hingedly secured at one edge to a side member, a second panel, hinge means including a hinge rod hingedly connecting said second panel to the opposite edge of said first panel, said hinge rod being rigidly secured to said second panel, a keeper secured to an end member and having spaced abutment members, and a pin rigidly and eccentrically secured to said hinge rod and receivable within said keeper, said keeper and pin being so disposed that, when said second panel is in closed position or in open position from closed position, said pin engages said abutment members and latches said first panel and, when said second panel is in an intermediate position, said pin clears said abutment members and unlatches said first panel.

2. A folding door structure comprising a door frame including side members and top and bottom members, a first panel hingedly secured at one edge to a side member, a second panel, hinge means including a hinge rod hingedl connecting said second panel to the opposite edge of said first panel, said hinge rod being rigidly secured to said second panel, a keeper secured to said top member and a keeper secured to said bottom member, each keeper having spaced abutment members, and a pin rigidly and eccentrically secured to each end of said hinge rod and received within the adjacent keeper, each said keeper and pin being. so disposed that, when said second panel is in closed position or in open position 180 from closed position, said pin engages said abutment members and latches said first panel and, when said second panel is in an intermediate position, said pin clears said abutment members and unlatches said first panel.

3.. In combination a door frame; a first door panel hinged to said frame; a'second door panel hinged to said first door panel by a hinge including a pintle, said pintle being fixed against rotation relative to said second door panel; spaced keepers fastened to said frame, said keepers defining an intermediate passageway arranged to receive the extended axis of said pintle when said first door is immediately approaching its closed position; and a radially offset bolt formed integral with said pintle and arranged to pass through said passageway upon the closing of said first door panel and to be seated behind one or the other of said keepers for maintaining said first door panel locked in its closed position against said frame.

EARL V. HOPKINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,200,277 Howie May 14, 1940 2,293,726 Fitch et a1 Aug. 25, 1942 2,451,537 Dath Oct. 19, 194B FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 571,746 Germany Mar. 4, 1933 

